Lake Placid ready to look for bids on sewer project

May 1, 2013

LAKE PLACID - After some delays, the village of Lake Placid is ready to seek bids on a project to replace two aging trunk sewer lines.

The village Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday evening to issue a request for proposals for the project. Originally, the village hoped to seek bids starting in late March, but it has taken longer to acquire easements than previously expected.

Mayor Craig Randall explained Monday that two easements are still in the works: One should be finalized soon, and the fate of a second is still uncertain. The plan, Randall said, is for the village to proceed with the project as it's currently designed. If the easements aren't secured within the next two weeks, the village will switch to an alternative plan.

"The optimal plan is the plan that we have on the table; that's approved and ready to go," Randall said. "The funding for the project is in place; it's secure."

The project includes installation of a new, 27-inch sewer line as well as removal of a dam and restoration of the Chubb River. It's expected to cost about $4.8 million. Treasurer Peggy Mousaw prepared and presented a proposal last year that secured a $1 million grant through the North Country Regional Economic Development Council to cover dam removal and restoration. Financing for the remainder of the project will come through the state Environmental Facilities Corporation.

The project's engineer, Ivan Zdrahal, addressed the board prior to the vote. He said one easement has been signed, and that if the other two fall through, a "Plan B" would be used to bypass the properties in question.

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"As soon as that can get resolved, the project can go," Zdrahal said. "It's fully ready."

Village Department of Public Works Superintendent Brad Hathaway noted that EFC won't release funds until easements are secured. He said the alternative plan would involve a "minor change.

"The only issue is we'd leave quite a few sections of old sewer" below one of the properties, Hathaway said.

"The only plus to that is there's no power line movement at all," he said.

Zdrahal said the project would cost slightly less under Plan B, although Hathaway added that the village would eventually have to spend money to remove the old sewer lines.

Zdrahal said the project has evolved greatly over the last four years.

Once the project is advertised, Zdrahal said the village should allow up to five weeks for contractors to submit bids. Then he and other village officials, along with EFC, will analyze and review the bids.

Zdrahal said ideally, a contract will be awarded by early July, with work possibly starting in August.